Fierce Government Relations: $13.2 million (versus $13.2 million in 2017) and $3.3 million in Q4 2018 (versus $3.5 million in Q4 2017)

Invariant: $13.1 million (versus $11 million in 2017) and $3.6 million in Q4 2018 (versus $3 million in Q4 2017)

OTHER NOTABLE FIRMS

— Crossroads Strategies: $12.5 million (versus $11.7 million in 2017) and $3.2 million in Q4 2018 (versus $3.1 million in Q4 2017)— Forbes Tate Partners: $12.8 million (versus $10.9 million in 2017) and $3.1 million in Q4 2018 (versus $2.7 million in Q4 2017)— Monument Advocacy: $8.2 million (versus $7.5 million in 2017) and $2.3 million in Q4 2018 (versus $1.7 million in Q4 2017)— Venable: $9.4 million (versus $9.1 million in 2017) and $2.2 million in Q4 2018 (versus $2.5 million in Q4 2017)— Washington Council Ernst & Young: $12.2 million* (versus $15.2 million* in 2017) and $3.1 million* in Q4 2018 (versus $4.5 million* in Q4 2017)

WHAT THE NUMBERS MEAN: K Street had another strong year under President Donald Trump. Some of Washington’s biggest lobbying firms — Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, BGR Group, Holland & Knight — saw modest upticks in business over 2017, which had been a strong year for K Street as corporate America rushed to shape the Republican tax overhaul. Other firms — Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, Capitol Counsel, Covington & Burling — saw their revenue contract slightly. John D. Raffaelli, the founding partner of Capitol Counsel, attributed the slight drop in business to the end of work on tax reform and the departure of Richard Sullivan, a former partner who left to start his own firm. Ballard Partners, meanwhile, nearly doubled its domestic lobbying revenue, which climbed to $18.5 million, making it the No. 7 firm in town two years after Brian Ballard arrived in Washington.

— What’s next? Marc Lampkin, the managing partner of Brownstein’s Washington office, told PI he was “cautiously optimistic” that 2019 would be another strong year, with oversight and health care work and maybe a surface transportation bill driving business. Lobbyists are also “trying to help clients navigate through the government shutdown,” which has made it harder to reach people in the executive branch, said Darrell Conner, a top lobbyist at K&L Gates. It’s still unclear how the shutdown will affect business, although many lobbyists expect an eventual slowdown in business as the presidential campaign starts to consume Washington later this year.

FIRST IN PI — BROWNSTEIN HIRES CHAO’S CHIEF OF STAFF: Geoffrey Burr has left the Transportation Department, where he served as Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao’s chief of staff, to join Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck as a policy director. He plans to lobby on transportation and labor issues. “Most of my efforts will be focused on the House and the Senate,” Burr told PI, since he’s banned from lobbying his former colleagues under the administration’s ethics rules. He’s allowed to give clients strategic advice about how to handle the administration, though, and he plans to do so.

HOLLAND & KNIGHT ADDS CONGRESSIONAL INVESTIGATIONS HAND: Christopher Armstrong is leaving the Hill to join Holland & Knight as a partner. He was previously the Senate Finance Committee’s chief oversight counsel and before that worked as oversight counsel for the House Ways and Means Committee. “With the number of investigations anticipated to increase significantly in the 116th Congress, I hope to be an effective advocate for those facing these types of inquiries, helping them navigate the process and the unique rules that apply in what can be a difficult experience for them,” Armstrong said in a statement.

FIRST IN PI — SIGNAL ADDS THREE: Signal Group is adding Sarah Hamlett, Charlie Moskowitz and Mae Stevens as executive vice presidents. Hamlett was previously a lobbyist at Federal City Strategies. Moskowitz previously worked as chief legislative counsel for the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. And Stevens previously served as a senior adviser to Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.).

WATERS CALLS CREDIT REPORTING EXECUTIVES TO TESTIFY: “House Financial Services Chairwoman Maxine Waters is planning to have the CEOs of the three major credit reporting firms appear before her committee next month, people familiar with the matter said, one of her first big moves to ramp up oversight of the finance industry,” POLITICO’s Zachary Warmbrodt reports. “Top executives from Equifax, Experian and TransUnion are expected to appear at a hearing anticipated for Feb. 26, the sources said. The hearing has not been announced and the schedule could change.” Full story.

HAPPENING THIS WEEK: “An industry group representing Amazon and other online retailers plans to convene congressional staffers this week as they try to steer lawmakers away from Trump administration proposals to reform the U.S. Postal Service,” POLITICO’s Steven Overly reports. “The so-called Package Coalition will pitch its position to Senate and House staff in separate briefings to be held Thursday. Representatives from Amazon, the National Retail Federation, OSM Worldwide, Pitney Bowes and Publishers Clearing House are slated to speak with the attendees.” Full story.

IF YOU MISSED IT ON TUESDAY: “The political war over prescription drug practices is spawning a frenzy of activity by outside lobbying groups, some with names that mask their ties to industry and one that has gone to great lengths to disguise its origins,” The Washington Post’s Christopher Rowland and Jeff Stein report. Take Citizens for American Ideas, for instance, which launched a website in December that “criticizes Democrats’ plans to curb drug costs in Medicare. The message also is being driven by mailings to the residences of individual voters in congressional districts, warning proposed changes would trash the U.S. patent system and make it more like ‘Russia or Brazil.’”

— “But the group has murky origins. It has taken steps to remain anonymous, even as it publicly rails against efforts in Congress to lower drug prices and urges voters to directly contact lawmakers. … Lobbyists and lawmakers who have reviewed the group’s activities say Citizens for American Ideas is the latest example of a corporate lobbying ‘ghost ship,’ a term of art for a corporate advocacy operation that is meant to remain anonymous.”Full story.

— The Business Roundtable has hired Kristen Silverberg as executive vice president for policy. She comes from the Institute of International Finance, where she was managing director.

— Carter Cornick has joined Arnall Golden Gregory as a director of government relations and communications. He previously worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers.

— Brendan Peter has joined IDEMIA as vice president of government relations. He previously led global corporate affairs for CA Technologies.

— David Romley has joined CLS Strategies as a senior adviser. He was previously a senior vice president at the Center for a New American Security.

— Entergy has promoted Mike Twomey to senior vice president for federal policy, regulatory and governmental affairs in its Washington office. He’ll replace Kim Despeaux, who retired last year.

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About The Author : Theodoric Meyer

Theodoric Meyer covers lobbying for POLITICO and writes the POLITICO Influence newsletter. He previously covered the 2016 campaign for POLITICO and worked as a reporting fellow for ProPublica in New York. He was a lead reporter on ProPublica’s “After the Flood” series on the federal government’s troubled flood insurance program, which won the Deadline Club Award for Local Reporting. He’s a graduate of McGill University and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.